Top title winner Anthony Cacace will have to make way for ‘Sugar’.
Ring has confirmed that the IBF has issued an order that it must protect the holder of the junior lightweight belt. Belfast’s Cacace has been booked to face IBF debutant Eduardo ‘Sugar’ Núnez.
IBF Championship Committee chairman Carlos Ortiz told Queensberry Promotions and Matchroom Boxing, the promoters of both teams, on Thursday. A letter received by A ring they noted that both sides have until June 22 to reach terms and avoid a hearing on the money request.
The call came five days after Cacace unseated Joe Cordina in the eighth round on May 18 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Cacace (22-1, 8 knockouts), Ring’s No. 5-rated junior lightweight, presented his best performance on the big stage to date. The fight took place on the Oleksandr Usyk-Tyson Fury undercard.
Cordina (17-1, 9 KOs) entered the fight on the hook to honor the mandatory defense with the win. That responsibility has now passed to Cacace, who has won seven in a row.
Núnez (27-1, 27 KOs) entered the first round with an eleventh round knockout of former titleholder Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov. Their February 16 title decider saw Núnez hit the road to wear down and stop Rakhimov (17-2-1, 14 KOs) in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
The fight marked the first time that Núnez went past the tenth round. He didn’t need much longer than that, however, to close the deal. The win extended his current streak to seventeen fights and one final appearance.
Cacace and Núnez are obligated to participate in the negotiations, according to IBF Rule D (b) and (c).
Failure of any IBF titleholder to honor the mandatory defense will result in their title being stripped. Likewise, challengers who leave the program will be ineligible to participate in any IBF-sanctioned fight for at least six months. In addition, such a failure of the competitor will also result in him being promoted outside the top ten of the IBF.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for The Ring and vice president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
